Process and apparatus for conditioning textile materials



Oct. 9, 1928.

A.- W. THOMPSON PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS A Filed Oct. 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l M ATyS.

" was l v e n TOT. Al ber W.T|'1ompSOn Oct. 9, 1928.

l A. W. THOMPSON PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed OCG- 5. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet lnvenToT. Aber VV. Thompson byml www ATTyS.

Patented Oct; 9, 1928.

` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT W. THOMPSON,OF LOWELL, rMASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB T0 PARKS-CRAMER COMPANYfOE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOB CONDITIONING TEXTILE MATERIALS.

Application filed October 5, 1925. Serial No. 60,371.

' mined uniform rate by circulating a con- I fined body of liquid at a rate of flow greaterthan the desired rate of delivery thereof,

maintaining by such circulation a columnv of liquid of uniform height, and delivering the liquid from` said column to said d1s tributing vmeans under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

The invention as employed in spraying textile fibres contemplates the application of oil, or other liquid', to a givenquantityrof fibres in such a manner that it may be conveniently regulated and controlled with close precision and may be reduced to comparatively minute quantities and rates of supply with undiminished accuracy of control.

My earlier Patent No. 1,401,376 granted December 27, 1921, discloses ay method and Y 'apparatus for' 'controllingthe supply of liquids, such as oils and emulsions, to` textile fibres. This type of apparatus is 'Widely and successfully utilized in textile industries, particularly in the treatment ofWool preparatory to carding and spinning by Woolen processes.

In ordinary practice, especially inthe vvoolen industry, it is desirable to apply emulsion lto the material to the extent of as much as thirty percent by Weight and it is dcsiredthat'a portion of the Water composing the emulsion shall subsequently evaporate as manufacture progresses. The important requirement, therefore, under such circumstances is to insure the application of an amount Which shall always exceed a certain minimum. Under such circumstances precise regulation is not an important factor.

In treating cotton ywith oil to facilitate its manufacture the conditions are quite different. In the recently developed practice in cotton industry the oil is applied to anipving body of the raw cotton before it is acted upon by the so-called breaker lapperl-the first machine in what is known as the picking process-or b any machine which performs a similar unction.` vThe lamount of cotton delivered to such machine is relatively small, averaging in the neighborhood of six hundred pounds of cotton per hour, and the percent of" oil desirably to be applied is .also small, usually in the neighborhood of from one-half to threefourths of one percent by weight, which corresponds approximately to an application of about one-half gallon of oil per hour.

Customarily no Water is mingled With the oil since raw cotton 'resists absorption of Water. Any excess of oil impedes the proper elimination and separation of'seed, leaf, and other impurities from the cotton which is the chief purpose of the picking process. Close regulation of the delivery of oil, therefore, becomes a factor of vital importance. It is moreover, highly important that Whenever the picker or corresponding machine is stopped for any reason that the delivery of oil. should also cease and that When the machine is again started the delivery should again immediately commence so as to obtain 'an even and uniform mixture of oil with the cotton at all times in predetermined proportions.

The presentV process -as applied to distributing the oil upon raw cotton,- and which is also applicable to distributing oil 4upon other materials, consists in delivering a controllable and accurately regulated quantity of the oil under a predetermined hydrostatic head from a column of oil diverted from a lother liquid, up'on the material;

Fig. 3 is `,an enlarged view, mainly in vertical section, of a preferred form of commercial apparatusfor delivering and distributing the oil, 0r other liquid, upon the material;

Fig. 4 is a view, mainly in side elevation,

of a modified form of oil supplying and distributing means adapted to be constructed of usual commercial piping;' and,

Fig. '5 is a front elevation of the construction illustrated in Fig. 4.

The apparatus illustrated herein is particularly designed for distributing oil upon aprogressively moving body of cotton, or other textile materials, and while the following description is addressed to this particular apparatus it will beunderstood that the apparatus is of an illustrative character as disclosing one preferred embodiment of the invention, and that other forms of apparatus,.capable of performing the process herein described, may be employed. It

will also be understood that the process may be utilized for the treatment of other kinds of 'material to which the invention is applicable within the broad scope ofthe invention claimed.

The apparatus maybe .generally described as comprising a feeder for the cotton to a breaker lapper, or other machine, for pre-v liminarily. treating the cotton, the oil being applied thereto by means of a spraying de vice positioned to project the oil upon the cotton, the spraying device being supplied with a regulated quantity of oil, or other liquid, delivered to it under a predetermined hydrostatic head from a column of oil of predetermined height produced by divertingl a regulated portion -of a circulating body of oil which is circulated at a rate of speed correlated to the rate of movementv of the material in the feeder.

The construction illustrated .in the accompanying drawings comprises a feeder having a hopper 1 provided at its bottom with a travelling endless carrier 2 which constantly forces the material in the hopper against an elevator 3 in the form of an endless apron provided with a toothed surface, such as card clothin lor the like, from which the material is ischarged by a suitable doiier 4 yto the apron 5 of the breaker lapper, or other machine, for giving the cotton its preliminary treatment.

One or more spray heads 6, located above the hopper 1 and directed downwardly at an angle to the direction of movement of the material, serve to project the oil, or other liquid, upon the material carried by the apron 2 at the bottom of the hopper. The spray head dorheads 6 are supported from a horizontal pipe 7, which is carried by'a bracket 8 secured tothe side of the hopper. The* preferred form of spray head, which is illustrated in Fig. 2, comprises a casing 9 having an air compartment lO'and a mixing compartment 11. The oil is supplied to the head through a pipe l2 which communicates with a conduit 13 extending axially through the chamber 10 and provided at its outer end with a suitable nozzle 14. Air is forced into the mixing chamber tangentially through ports 15 desirably located in proximity to the tip-of the nozzle so that the air under pressure assumes a rotary or whirling motion therein of relatively high velocity which breaks up or pulverizes the particles of' oil` and discharges it through the outlet 16 of the spraying device. A portion of the air undei pressure. is permitted to pass through an annular nozzle 17 surrounding` the outlet 16 and acts to enclose the whirling vaporized spray in a conical envelope which restricts and condenses the action of the jet and insures a uniform distribution of the spray upon the material.

This construction may be and is substantially the same as that disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,401,376 above identified.

Air, preferably under low pressure, is supplied to the air chamber 10 through a pipe 18l leading from a blower 19 which may be mounted and actuated i'n any suitable manner.

`Means for supplying oil to the spraying device illustrated in Fig. 3 comprises a pump 20, the inlet 21 of which communicates with a chamber 22 in a hollow metallic base 23 to which oil is supplied through a pipe 24 from a suitable tank 25 which may be located at any convenient position. The vertical location of the tank with respect to the pump should be such that the oil, or other liquid, will always stand at a level somewhat higher than the pump itself, thus providing for the priming of the pump. Each machine to which the oil is to be supplied may be connected to a single main supply tank, although each machine may, if preferable` have its own independent tank or source of Supplyy f The pump desirably is driven by a pulley 26 and belt 27-from a shaft which directly` or indirectly drives the carrier 2 and the elevator 3 of the feeder 'so that the speed of the pump will always be correlated to the speed of movement of the'material in the feeder.

The liquid is delivered by the pump to Achamber 30 in a header 31.

a riser 28 which` desirably is provided with a removable strainer 29 to prevent possible accumulation of lint and other impurities in the pipe leading to the sprayer. The upper end of the riser 28 communicates with a The header 31 is divided by horizontal and vertical partitions 32 and 33 to provide a supplementary chamber 34 which communicates with the upper end of a return pipe 35 of relatively large diameter, the lower end of which communicates with the chamber 22 in the base 23. A stand-pipe 36, preferably located in axial alinement with the return pipe 35, is seated in the header 31 and communicates with' the chamber 32 into which the liquid is delivered from the riser. The vertical partition 33 of the header has aI port 37 which is controlled by a needle valve 38 having a screw threaded stem which en,-v

gagesv correspondingl complementary screw threads in the wall of the header. The end of the needle valve 38 is provided with a slot to permit adjustment of the valve and desirably a screw threaded plug 39, seated in acountersink beyond the outer end of the needle valve, serves to prevent escape of any oil which may leak along the screw threads of the plug. j

An outlet conduit, desirably in the form of an externally screw threaded pipe 40, is mounted in the partition 33 of the header and is adapted to provide an overflow dam for the column of liquid in the stand-pipe andto discharge the same into the return pipe so that the excessive oil delivered to the cplumn is reciroulated through the pump. Desirably a gauge glass .41 is mounted in the header and .extends upwardly in parallelism with the stand-pipe so that the lheight of oil in thestand-pipe may be readily observed. A cap 42 is mount-edv yupon the upper end of the stand-pipe and the gauge glass and is provided with a vent port 43 which communicates with both the stand-pipe and the header.

^ The pipe 12, which leads to the spray head or heads 6, preferably communicates with a poort 44 leading to the chamber 30 of the header 31 so that the oil or other liquidv which is delivered to the spray head or heads is under a constant hydrostatic head which is determined by the height of the adjustable outlet conduit 40 or dam. The

,spray head tipH 14 should be somewhat higher than the port 44 which communicates withthe feed pipe 12. As a result 0f this vertical relation between the level of the column of oil in the stand-pipe, which is determined by adjustment of the outlet pipe 40 and the nozzle, all of the oil or other liquid in the delivery pipe 12 will be discharged backward by siphoning into the chamber 30 of the header and thence through the port 37 into the return pipe 35 as soon as the level of the oil or other liquid in the stand-pipe falls below the tip 14 of the sprayer. Thus the supply of oil will be immediately cut off upon stoppage orrsubstantial diminution iin the speed of movement of the conveyer 2 which supports the textile material.

The starting up and thereafter the continuous operation of the apparatus may be described as follows In order to make the preliminary adjustment after the apparatus has been erected the valve 38, which controls the area of the port 37, should at first be opened wide. lThis port desirably is of such size that when the apparatus is started up with the valve 38 wide open all of the oil delivered by the pump will pass through the port 37-into the return pipe 35 and drawn therefrom by the suction of the pump. Under these conditions the oil or other liquid will not then rise in the stand-pipe 36 as high as the topv of the outlet pipe 40 or dam and no liquid will be delivered to the spray heads.

Willen the mechanism for forwarding the textile material and the pump which is driven in correlation therewith has reached full speed of operation the valve 38 should be gradually closed until the oil or other liquid rises in the Vstand-pipe 'sufficiently to fiow over the top of the outlet pipe or dam 40. This pipe may be then graduallyv adjusted until a hydrostatic head of oil is established which willj cause the delivery of oil to the spray heads.

During these preliminary operations the spray headsV should not be supplied` with air. As soon as the delivery of oil or other liquid to the spray heads takes place a suitable receptacle may be placed under it to receive the oil, and by measuring the amount of oil kdelivered by the spray head in a lnown interval of time the amount of oil which would be sprayed upon the. material may be accurately determined. By furtheradjustment of the outlet pipe or dam 40 an accurate calibration of the device may be obtained which will insure the delivery of exactly the desired quantity of oil to the spray head in a given interi'al of time. Air may then be supplied to the spray head and the textile material fed into the hopper and the machine continuously operated thereafter.

It is obvious that the arrangement of the apparatus as a whole is such that a very delicate adjustment of the delivery of oil to the spray head is possible and that when the initial adjustment of the valve 38 and the height of the adjustable dam 40 have once been established the delivery of oil to the spray head will be uniform because the flow of oil through the connection to the spray head and the pipe 12 leading thereto takes place purely by the hydrostatic llO .by cleaning.

in the level of the oil in the visible gauge would be most likelyto indicate the accumulation ofimpurities on the screen of the strainer and the necessity of their removal Such cleaning can be conveniently accomplished by shutting down the machine, thus permitting the oil to flow into the return pipe 35, after which the strainer screen may be removed and cleaned in a very brief interval.

The fundamental and novel principle in the present invention is Ilot concerned with the particular type of machinery by means of which the textile materials are processed, nor with the spraying or other means for applying fluid to the material, but lies wholly in the method `and means disclosed herein for insurin that the oil or other liquid with Which thebres are to be treated shall be so delivered to the` spraying or fluid-applying means that the rate of delivery of the fluid is 'always under close and accurate control and is continuouswhen the entire apparatus is in normal operation of processing, but not at other times.

The detailsotapparatus are subject to wide modication without departure from the scope of the invention. In Figs. 4 and 5.l for example, a diiferent forni of apparatus is illustrated which is constructed entirely of piping and structural Amaterials which may be obtainedkin the open market. The construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 comprises a vertical metallic plate which has secured to its lower end an L-shaped metallie base 46, a plate 47 being secured to the side of the hopper frame. The pump 20, preferably of the rotary type, is mounted upon a stand 49 which is secured to the base. A riser 50 from the pump, which may be of usual piping with ordinary connections to the pump, extends verticallyland has secured to its upper end a'ilter 51. The riser pipe has a section 52 which extends upwardly bevond the screen section 51 and is connec ed to a union 53 dfrom which a branch pipe or by-pass 54 having therein a valveA 55 leads to a return pipe 56 of relatively large diameter which extends vertically in parallelism to the riser pipe.

The stand-pipe' and return pipe desirably are connected by a horizontal clamp 57 located adjacent to the connection 52 and the return pipe may lbe connected by suitable clamps 58 and 59 to the vertical supporting plate 45. another union 6() which is located above the union 53 and has connected to it the pipe 12 leading to the spray head lor heads 6. Another branch 61 from the union 60 is connected t an elbow 62 to which is connected a lex'ble pipe 63 which is connected by. la suitable elbow 64 and to a union 65 forming part of a vertical stand-pipe 66 which is slid-ably mounted in a collar 67 upon the upper-fend of the return pipe 56 and desirably extends a considerable distance into the return'pipe. The stand-pipe 66 may bese-l cured in vertical screwA 68 or other means which will permit its vertical adjustment.

Desirably a gauge glass 69 extends upwardly from the union 60 which forms part of the riser 50. The upper end of the standpipe is provided with a vented cap 70 and a similar vented cap 71 is desirably secured -to the upper end of the. gauge glass.

TheI operation of this device is in all respects equivalent to that shown in Fig. 3. In order to make the preliminary adjust- 'ment after the apparatus has been erected The vertical riser also includes' position by a suitable set the valve 55 in the by-pass pipe 54 is tirst,

opened wide. This by-pass and valve preferably are of such size that when the apparatus is started up with the valve 55 wide open all of the oil or other liquid delivered by the pump will pass through the by-pass ;into' the return pipe 56, the relation being such that the oil will not then rise in the standpipe 66 as high as the point where the delivery pipe 12 is connected to the union 60. At this preliminary stage of adjustment the stand-pipe 66 shouldbe in its lowest position ot' adjustment so that the outlet of the flexible tube or pipe 63 will be at substantially the same level as its inlet.

lVhen the machinery, conveying the textile material and the pump, which is driven at' a speed correlated thereto, is in operation at full speed the by-pass valve 55 should be gradually closed until oil appears'at the lower end of the gauge glass 69, thus indicating that the excess of oilabove that which passes through the by-pass is now passing through the flexible tube into the stand-pipe 66. The adjustable stand-pipeY 66 may be then gradually raised until a sufiicient hvd'rostatic head of oil or other liquid is established to cause the delivery of oil to the spray heads through the pipe v12. 1

During these preliminary operations the spray heads are not supplied with air. As

-Soon as the delivery of oil tothe spray head 66 a position will be` eventually reached when the delivery of oil to the spray'- heads at the desired rate is established. The height of oil in the visible gauge 69 may then be noted for the purpose of establishing that point or position of adjustment at which the desired delivery of oil through the spray head is effected.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that the outlet of the iieXible tubeI is in effect a dam over which the flowing, of a small surplus of oil may be continuously maintained while the machine is in operation. The height of the dam, since it establishes the hyrostatic head of oil on the spray head and its delivery connections, is therefore a controlling means which may be adjusted to effect thedesired rate of delivery of oil to the spray head. It will also be noted that the delivery of oil to the spray head will immediately cease if the machine is stopped or the .speed of the pump materially reduced. This is because the by-pass valve 55, which is always partially open, will permit the immediate escape of oil from the riser, the pipe l2 leading to the spray head, and the flexible tube 63 which leads to the stand-pipe if the rate of discharge of oil from the pump is materially lowered, since onlya small surplus of'oil is flowing through the flexible pipe 63 and over the dam formed by its connection to the adjustable pipe 66. vIt is important that the vertical height of the union 6() and inlet to the feed pipe 12 leading from the stand-pipe sholld be somewhat lower thanthe tip 14 of the oil nozzle within the spray head 9. As a result of this `vertical relationship between the delivery connection and the tip 14 all of the oil in the fluid delivery pipe 12 will be discharged backward by siphoning into the riser pipe as soon as the level of the oil in the riser pipe falls below the connection of the flexible pipe 63 to the stand-pipe. The arrangement of the apparatus is such that a very delicate adjustment of the delivery of oil to the 'spray head is possible and is also such that when the initial adjustment of the bypass valve and the height of the adjustable vstand-pipe 66 have once been carefully establishedthe delivery of oil to the spray'head will be uniform. This is because the flow of oil or other liquid through the connection to the spray head and the pipe 12 leading thereto takes place purely .by virtue of the hydrostatic head of oil imposed upon the delivery connection and because the hyrostatic head in turn depends upon the adjustment of the vertical stand-pipe 66 and the dam which is formed by the connection' of the flexible pipe 63 to the stand-pi e. The presence of the visible gauge is not a solutely necessary, but, however, is a convenient and desirable accessory for the reasons heretofore specified.f

yof construction maybe employed to perform the process disclosedherein and\within the .scope and meaning of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. The process of ,delivering liquid to a liquid-distributing means at a predetermined uniform rate which comprises circulating a confined body of the liquid at a rate of flow greater than the desired rate of delivery thereof, -maintaining thereby a column of said liquid of a uniform height and delivering the liquidrom said column under a predetermined hydrostatic head and uniformly distributing the liquid thus delivered in the form of a spray.

2. The process of delivering liquid at a predetermined rateto a moving body of material which comprises circulating a confined body of the liquid at a rate of flow correlated to the rate of movement ofsaid material and greater than the desired rate of delivery of said liquid, maintaining thereby a column of said liquid of a uniform I height and delivering the liquid to said material from saidA column under a predetermined hydrostatic head and distributing the liquid thus delivered in the` form of a spray uniformly upon said moving body of material.

3. The process of uniformly distributing a controllable amount of liquid upon a moving body of fibrous material which comprises circulating a confined body of the liquid at a rate of How corelated to the rate of movement of said material and greater than the desired rate of delivery of said liquid, diverting, by controllable restriction of said circulation, a column of said liquid, maintaining said column of liquid at a uniform height, delivering the liquidl from said column under a predetermined hydrostatic head and spraying the liquid thus delivered upon lgreater than the desired rate fdelivery of Isaid liquid, diverting, by controllable restriction of said circulation, a columnof said liquid, maintaining said column of liquid `at a uniform height, delivering the liquid from said column under a predetermined hydrostatic head and spraying the liquid thus delivered -upon the moving -material and arresting the delivery of liquid when the height of the column is decreased, and, when the rate of'movement of the material is reduced.

5. The process of delivering a uniform limited supply of vliquid to a spraying device-for distributing liquid upon a moving body of textile material which comprises circulating a conned body of the liquid at a rate of flow correlated to the rate of move-- ment of said material and greater than the desired rate of delivery of said liquid, diverting, by controllable restriction of said circulation, a portion of the liquid to .produce 'a "column of liquid having a definite height 'and delivering the liquid from said column to said spraying device under only ay sufficient hydrostatic head to'supply continuously a small amount. of liquid to said spraying device. v

6. The process of delivering a uniform limited supply of liquid to a spraying devicey for distributing liquid upon a moving body of teX'tileimaterial which comprises circulating a confined body of the liquid at a rate ofvllow correlated to the rate of movement of said material and greater thanthe desired rate of delivery of said liquid, diverting, by controllable restriction of said circulation, a portion of the liquid to produce av column of liquid having a definite height, maintaining the column of liquid at said denite height by discharging the surplusof liquid supplied to the column and delivering the liquid from Asaid column to' saidl sprayin device -under only a sufficient hydrostatic ead to supply continuously a i small amount of liquid to said spraying device.

7. Apparatus for uniformly delivering a regulated quan -ity of liquid to a travelling 1 body of material comprising means for continuously moving the material at a substantially uniform rate of speed, spraying heads arranged to distribute'the liquid uniformly upon said travelling bod of material, means for circulating the ,liqui at a rate correlated to the speed ofmovement` of the material,

means for delivering a portion of the circurlating liquid to said spraying means and means for maintaining al predetermined hy- .drostatic head upon the liquid-delivering means., f i 8. Apparatus for uniformly delivering a regulated quantity ofvliquid to a travelling body of material comprising means for continuously moving the material at a substantially uniform rate of speed, spraying heads arranged to distribute -the liquid uniformly upon said travelling body of material,

means for circulating theliqid at a rate lcorrelated to the speed of movement of the delivering means operable upon substantial,

diminution of the rate of movement of said material or stoppage thereof immediately to stop the delivery of liquid.

9. Apparatus for uniformly delivering a regulated quantity of liquid toca travelling body of material comprising means for continuously moving the material at a substantially uniform rate of speed, spraying heads arranged to distribute the liquid uniformly upon said travelling body of material, means for circulating the liquid at a rate correlated to the speed of movement` of the material, controllable meansl for producing from said circulating liquid a column of liquid having. a predetermined height and means for delivering a portion of the liquid from said column of liquid under a predetermined hydrostatic head to said spraying heads.

10. Apparatus for uniformly delivering a regulated quantity of liquid to a travelling body of material comprising means for continuously moving the-material at a substantially uniform rate of speed, spraying heads arranged to distribute the liquid uniformly upon said 4travelling body of material, means for circulating the liquid at a rate correlated to the speed of movement of the material, controllable means for producing from said circulating liquid a column of liquid having a predetermined height, means for delivering ,a portion of the liquid from said column of liquid under a predetermined hydrostatic head to said spraying heads, and means for regulating the height of said co1- umn whereby theghydrostatic head upon the liquid-delivering means may be varied.

11. Apparatus for delivering liquid to a liquid-distributingmeans at a predetermined rate of flow comprising a conduit, means for,

continuously circulating the liquidy therethrough at a uniform rate of flow greater .than the desired rate of delivery of said liquid, a

stand-pipe communicating with said conduit, controllable means for maintaining a column of liquid of predetermined height in said stand-pipeand means for delivering the liquid from said stand-pipe to said .liquiddistributing means under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

- 12. Apparatus for delivering liquid to a liquid-distributing means at a predetermined rate of flow comprising a conduit, means for continuously circulating the liquid therethrough at a uniform rate of flow greater,

ceeding a predetermined height and means for delivermg liquid froml said stand-pipe to said liquid-distributing means under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

' 13. Apparatus for/delivering liquid'to a liquid-distributing means at a predetermined rate of {low-comprising a conduit, means for continuously circulating the liquid therethrough at a uniform rate of flow greater than the desired rate ot' delivery of said liquid, a stand-pipe communicating with said conduit,v an adjustable 'valve in said conduit operable to control the flow of liquid into said stand-pipe, an outlet conduit communicating with said stand-pipe operable to prevent the liquid column in said pipe from exceeding a predetermined height and means for delivering the liquid from said standpipe to said liquid-distributing means under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

14. Apparatus for delivering liquid to a liquid-distributing means at a predetermined rate of flow comprising a conduit, means for continuously circulating the liquid therethrough at a uniform rate of flow greater than the desired rate of delivery -of said liquid, a stand-pipe communicating with said conduit, an outlet conduit, of smaller ldiameter than said stand-pipe mounted within said stand-pipe and adjustable longitudinally thereof, forming a dam and acting to maintain the column of liquid in said standpipe at a predetermined height and means for delivering the liquid from said standpipe to said liquid-distributing means under a predetermined hydrostatic head.,

l5. Apparatus for uniformly delivering liquid upon a moving body of brous material comprising a travelling conveyer for the material, spraying means positioned to distribute the liquid upon the material on said conveyer, means for supplying liquid to said spray head comprising an endless conduit for the liquid, a stand-pipe extending upwardly therefrom and communicating therewith, a pump in said conduit, means for driving said pump at a'speed correlated to the speed of movement of said material, adjustable means for restricting the iow of liquid in said conduit to maintain a column of liquid in said stand-pipe at a substantially predetermined height, an outlet for the liquid in said stand-pipe for preventingthe liquid column to exceed a predetermined height and a delivery conduit leading to said spraying means communicating with said stand-pipe, whereby the liquid will be supplied to the spraying means ata predetermined hydrostaticY head.

'16. Apparatus for uniformly delivering liquid uponV a moving bodyof fibrous mat-erial comprising a travelling conveyer for the material, spraying means positioned to distribute the liquid upon the material on ,said conveyer, means for supplying liquid justable means for restricting the flow of liquid in said conduit to maintain a column of liquid in said stand-pipe at a substantially predetermined height, an outlet conduit forming a dam communicating with said stand-pipe acting to maintain the liq- `uid column in said pipe at a predetermined height relatively to the height of said spraying means and a delivery conduit leading .to said spray head communicating with said conduit below said dam, whereby the liquid will be delivered to said spray head under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

17. Apparatus orxuniformly delivering a limited quantity of liquid upon a moving body of fibrous material comprising a travelling endless conveyer for the' material, spraying means positioned to distribute the liquid upon the material on said conveyer, a pump for the liquid, means for driving said pump at a speed correlated to the rateof movement of said material, a riser leading from said pump and a return conduit communicating with the intake of said pump, a stand-pipe communicating with said riser, means for regulating the fiowof liquid from said riser into said return pipe operable to maintain a column of substantially prede-- termined height in said stand-pipe, an outlet conduit forming a dam communicating with said stand-pipe acting to maintain the liquid column in said stand-pipe at a predetermined height relatively to the height of said spraying means and a delivery conduit leading from said spray head communicating with said stand-pipe below said dam, whereby the liquidwill be delivered to said spray head under a predetermined hydrostatic head.

18. Apparatus for uniformly delivering a limited quantity of liquid upon a moving body of fibrous material comprising a trav: elling endless conveyer for the material,l spraying meanspositioned to distributethe liquid upon the material on said conveyer,

a pump for the liquid, means for driving said pump at a speed correlated to the rate of movement of said material, a riser leading from said pump and a'return conduit of larger diameter than said riser communicating with the intake of'said pump, a standpipe communicating with said riser, located in. axial alinement with said return means for regulating the flow of liquid rom said riser into 'said return pipe to maintain a column of liquid of predetermined height in said stand-pipe, lan youtlet conduit of smallerl diameter than said stand-pipe, located concentrically within said stand-pipe,

ipe,

and adjustably mounted therein, and eomsaid stand-pipe below said dam, whereby the municating with said return pipe and formliquid will be delivered to saidy spraying ing a dam acting to maintain the liquid means under a predetermined hydrostatic 10 column in saidv pipe at a predetermined head. v

height relatively to the height of said spray- In testimony whereof, I have signed my ing means and a delivery conduit leading name to this specification.

to said spraying means communicating with ALBERT W. THOMPSON. 

